About 15 years ago, Mornington Crescent tube station was being renovated.
As such, it was closed for ... fucking ages - a few years.

I'd started getting about with a guy who was a complete yokel in the Big Smoke - totally wide-eyed and innocent (not that any of us weren't, but he really was). One day, as we passed through Mornington Crescent on the way to an anarchists meeting or whatever shit we were into, he asked why it was always closed.

"Richard Branson's bought it" said our other mate, "He's going to build a Virgin Megastore on top of it, and advertise it worldwide as the first shop to have it's own tube station."

"Yeah - fucking capitalism ... " I spat, "Raping our heritage in pursuit of the Yankee dollar!"

Thus it was with delight that we watched the lad cheerfully tell this to prospective shags, including one a only couple of years ago, who, when she questioned how come it was open now as just a normal station, without missing a beat he said "Oh yeah well the deal fell through and he had to sell it back to the Underground - he made a massive loss ... "

I felt a lovely surge of paternal pride overhearing him say that.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Fri 14 Jan 2011, 17:39, Reply)